Joe Francis must pay Steve Wynn ANOTHER $20m - taking total to $40m for saying casino tycoon 'threatened to kill him and bury him in desert'

  • Soft porn producer Francis had claimed hotel magnate Wynn threatened to kill him over unpaid gambling debt
  • Francis ordered to pay further $20m on top of $20m damages he was made to pay earlier this month
  • Wynn brands Francis a 'digital assassin' following second judgement
  • Francis insists he will appeal court ruling

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 11:59 EDT, 13 September 2012 | Updated: 12:04 EDT, 13 September 2012


'Girls Gone Wild' founder Joe Francis has been made to pay a second $20m damages bill following his defamation battle with Steve Wynn - to add to the $20m he has already been ordered to pay the casino mogul.

Wynn won an initial $20m in his slander case against Francis, who claimed the creator of some of Las Vegas' most upscale resorts threatened to kill him over a gambling debt.

But Francis has today been hit with an additional $20m fine for punitive damages, according to TMZ.

Joe Francis
Casino mogul Steve Wynn arrives at court for his slander trial Thursday Sept. 6, 2012 in Los Angeles

Payout: Soft porn mogul Francis producer Joe Francis, left, pictured in 2010, was hit with a second $20m bill after the courting ruling in his defamation case with casino mogul Steve Wynn

Witnesses disputed Francis' claims during a four-day trial, including Grammy winning record producer Quincy Jones, who Francis said told him about Wynn's threats and showed him a stack of emails that contained them.

In siding with Wynn, the jury determined that there was clear and convincing evidence that Francis slandered the casino mogul and knew his allegations were false when he made them.

Francis had claimed Wynn threatened to hit him over the head with a shovel and have him buried in the desert.

After the second verdict, Wynn said: 'Joe Francis represents a new kind of criminal type: the digital assassin.

'He takes advantage of the protection afforded by the internet to issue intentionally destructive charges against someone’s reputation. Thank God for the justice system that finally sent a message.'

Suit up: Casino mogul Steve Wynn arrives at court with his wife, Andrea, for his slander trial today in Los Angeles

Suit up: Casino mogul Steve Wynn arrives at court with his wife, Andrea, for his slander trial today in L.A.

Neither Wynn nor Francis was present in court Monday morning when the verdict was read.

Wynn's attorney on Friday had asked the panel to award the billionaire $12million plus punitive damages to send a message that false statements that travel far in the Internet age will not be tolerated.

Wynn's attorney, Barry Langberg, said after the verdict was read that the jury clearly saw the harm in Francis' remarks.

'The evidence was clear that there was falsity and there was damage,' Langberg said.

Francis said he expects the verdict to be overturned on appeal due to judicial error.

Sin City: Wynn owns the now-infamous Wynn Hotel, where Prince Harry spent a highly-publicised weekend partying

Sin City: Wynn owns the Wynn Hotel, where Prince Harry spent a highly-publicised weekend partying last month

Swearing in: Music mogul Quincy Jones testifies in court today during a slander trial against Steve Wynn and the creator of Girls Gone Wild

Swearing in: Music mogul Quincy Jones had testified earlier this month in the high-profile defamation case

'I'm startled by the jury's verdict because it's totally unfounded and the evidence does not support it,' Francis said in a phone interview.

He said the judge erred by allowing Wynn's attorneys to allow jurors to consider a new claim of slander based on an interview Francis did with 'Good Morning America' after the trial started.

The panel awarded Wynn $11million in damages on that claim alone.

'California law is very clear. You can't add a cause of action at the end of trial about something that had nothing to do with the trial,' Francis said.

'Therefore we are 100 percent confident this jury verdict will be reversed on appeal.'

The CEO of Wynn resorts and designer of signature Las Vegas casinos such as The Mirage, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore attended the trial.

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Joe Francis must pay Steve Wynn another $20m - taking total to $40m for saying casino tycoon 'threatened to kill him and bury him in desert'

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